RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - A recent motivational conference hosted by state agencies received 434 registrations and cost the state $40,480, according to a spokeswoman for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
The first-ever South Dakota LEADS Conference earlier this month at the Sioux Falls Convention Center was free and open to the public. There were conference tracks for students, educators and women.
The keynote address for each track was delivered by Clint Pulver, a motivational speaker from Utah. The state paid him $17,750, according to the Rapid City Journal.
Other conference expenses included the facility rental, music and entertainment, travel costs for guests, food and signage.
The cost of the conference was expected to be split by the state Department of Education and state Department of Social Services, Noem’s spokeswoman said. She said no decision has been made about whether to stage the conference next year.
“My hope is that people left the conference looking at themselves differently,” Noem said in a statement. “I hope they understood more profoundly that they are created for a purpose - that they can serve as role models, change agents, and leaders.”
The student conference agenda included presentations by Pulver, the Set Me Free Project, Microsoft and Melanie Weiss. The Set Me Free Project is an Omaha-based nonprofit that fights sex trafficking, and Weiss is a recovered opioid addict from Watertown.
The educator conference agenda included presentations by the Set Me Free Project, Microsoft and Pulver. The women’s conference agenda included presentations by the Set Me Free Project, Microsoft, Weiss, Pulver and Noem.
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